[Sca-cooks] Farmers Market

[Amanda Baker]

Hello again :-)

Anne-Marie Rousseau <acrouss at gte.net> said:

> Here in Seattle, WA (Barony of Madrone, An Tir) we have Pike Place Market.
> Year round.

        Oh, I remember Pike Place! [FX: Drool]

        Cardiff now has the Riverside Community Market, which is very
good, but only happens on the first Sunday of each month - I made it
in October, but it looks like I won't get back until February!!  They have
a slightly unpredictable array of about 15-20 stalls, which variously sell
Welsh Jersey unsalted butter, and cream,  Welsh Mountain organic-reared
lamb,  Welsh honey, soft fruits (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries
etc. in season) which are picked at dawn to come to market, and so on;
nothing exotic  - they strongly discourage imports, concentrating on affordable,
low food-miles produce for the benefit of local people: just about everything
locally produced, and all delicious!

        On my last business trip (and it may well _be_ my last, but that's
another story) to Hawai'i (yes, I know, I know), I made it to the Farmer's
Market in Hilo (apparently, the wettest city in the USA, and up there in
the world league!), and bought armfuls of papayas, Royal (extra-sweet)
pineapple, fresh-picked tangerines, passion fruits (called locally, lilikoi),
rambutan and other delights.  I found this in sharp contrast with the products
available in the stores and cafes;  perhaps I've become too much of a
food snob, as the first time I went to the USA, the food astounded me.
But this time, I found that things like lilikoi cheesecakes and drinks were
over-sweetened and adulterated with corn syrup - I could not find freshly
squeezed fruit juice _anywhere_. With such a local abundancy, can anyone
from Hawai'i comment on this?

> Wednesdays are organic produce day (local farmers come and set
> up stalls in addition to the regular stalls). Three awesome fish vendors...
> A bajillion produce vendors carrying local stuff... several butchers who
carry everything from beautiful roasts ... to real sausage casings, sheep
testicles

        OK, wow! What is everyones favourite period sheep testicle
recipe, and have you ever served it at a feast???

        <extended list of fabulous goodies drooled over and deleted>

        So, we are living in a fantastic time, when many of us have
relatively easy access to a wealth of exotic foods which would have
given a Roman patrician a second thought!  Still, a large fraction of
all this good stuff is unappreciated in the areas where it is produced,
and has to be carried half-way around the planet by internal combustion
engine (two cups of diesel for every cup of 'freshly squeezed' orange juice
imported into the UK, some say!).

        What a dilemma for a foodophile :-/

        All the best,

        Amanda